Ron Milam

And what a night it was a month ago on December 7th! So cold, we squeezed almost everyone into the lobby, which made us much warmer and cozier, like an art opening, as pizza appetizers circulated hot out of Ray Cirino’s astounding rocket stove with great local and organic veggies donated by Mud Baron and Camille Cimino.

While wine flowed to accompany Jimmy Lizama’s great rice, beans and veggies with help from sis Mayi Mauricio, more great food was prepared by Lara Morrison, also chief server for the evening. Nichole Schwab provided a popular wine pairing activity while Eco- Villagers Jordan B and Becca L. tended bar. To top off the food

Midnight dishwashing party with LAEV Intentional Community members (photo by Lois).

We had planned to debut our outdoor courtyard kitchen (coordinated by LAEV member and Greywater Action co-founder Laura Allen) for the dish washing activities, but the cold weather resulted in our carting all the dishes up to our community room for the midnight dish washing party spearheaded by Eco-Villagers Melba Thorn and Ana Paula Noguez Mercado, then joined by members Nichole, Becca, Yuki, Eric, Michelle, Laura, Jordan and Randy who finished the job.

KCET’s “Engaging Spaces” blogger and LAEV friend George Villanueva describes the highlight of the evening as we honored our former LAUSD School Board and City Council member Jackie Goldberg “who fought side by side with LAEV to make the physical and social space for the Village that we see today.” George goes on to quote Jackie saying “how LAEV members ‘not only talk about what to do, but live it and demonstrate it.'” Go here to read the complete blog post.

Honored guest Jackie Goldberg holds plaque award up (photo by Yuki)

We presented Jackie with a small crystal plaque with the engraved words “Thank you Jackie Goldberg for giving us a garden plot instead of a parking lot” to honor the many times she helped save the LAEV neighborhood from being razed for a new school, especially because there were better alternatives. Jackie set the precedent which ultimately resulted in the saving of the northeast corner of Bimini and White House Place for the White House Place Learning Garden instead of more asphalt. Currently in development, the corner will eventually host gardening instruction for kids from eight schools within walking distance of LAEV.

After the presentation to Jackie, I made a special acknowledgement to Lara Morrison, 15 year LAEV member who has been our buildings manager for over ten years, nearly half of that time as a volunteer. She will be leaving that position in 2014 as she pursues a variety of other earth-related interests. A key player in piloting the conversion of our two adjacent apartment buildings of 45 units from conventional nonprofit ownership to the Urban Soil-Tierra Urbana limited equity housing cooperative, Lara also oversaw the

development of the Beverly-Vermont Community Land Trust, which now owns the land underneath that housing. The White House Place Learning Garden has also been spearheaded by Lara’s boundless energy. She will, of course, continue as a valued member of our LAEV Intentional Community.

More media coverage was provided by Koreatown News staffer Leyna Chon. Referring to Jackie’s comments, Leyna states “Noting the recent natural disasters around the world and the unusually cold LA weather that evening, Jackie also emphasized the urgency of LAEV’s cause,” referring to the increasing volatility of climate change. Leyna’s article on LAEV is one of the most comprehensive in recent times, referring in some detail to our Housing Co-op and Community Land Trust, the LAEV membership process, the Arroyo SECO Network of Time Bank, and more. See full article here.

Then Surprise–
The surprise of the evening was when Eco-Village members Yuki Kidokoro and Becca L presented a large framed LAEV photo collage with congratulatory notes from many LAEV community members to LAEV co-founder Lois Arkin (i.e., “me”) along with a very special native buckwheat plant. I was so surprised and flabbergasted, I was speechless, a most unusual response from someone who generally has something to say about almost everything. It’s pretty hard to keep a secret in the

LAEV community, but they really did it. After the photo presentation, long time friend and colleague Julia Russell made some very moving comments about our friendship, followed by Tina Mata’s words of appreciation. Here are a few of Julia’s words: “…In my opinion, it’s the most evolutionary project in all of Los Angeles, demonstrating a society of economic and social democracy rooted in ecological wisdom. Yes, it’s true, as Lois never tires of reminding us, none of us do what we do, or did what we did, alone. It’s the armies of people that catch the vision and the fire of inspiration and opt to become part of it and give it their energy and commitment that actually bring it to fruition.” (Do email me if you would like to see Julia’s entire comments crsp@igc.org.) If ever there is a time to make you feel humble, it is when something like this happens, so completely unexpected.

So, yes!, what a night it was to remember. As an old lady of almost 77, who knows if I’ll be around for the 25th or 30th Anniversary party or not, and/or what shape I’d be in by then, to appreciate such lovely warm and inspiring thoughts? So a great big public thank you to a wonderful community, one that knows how to throw a great party and make the most brash amongst us feel a tearful and speechless humility.

But, ultimately, the message has got to be: let’s not take 20 years to create thousands of transitional urban ecovillages. We’ve got the tools, and, already, there are dozens of eco community initiatives happening right here in the greater Los Angele area. What we call them is not so important as what people are doing in their neighborhoods to connect, collaborate and cooperate with one another for creating an ever higher quality of life at an ever lower environmental impact. We’re nearly out of time so better to make change happen deeply and rapidly and with all the justice we can muster in the process.

Are you tired of those same tensions playing out at every meeting? Is your organization or board loosing momentum?

Unresolved tension between co-workers, board members or board and staff gets in the way of productive meetings, wastes valuable time and energy and creates unpleasant office environments. These tensions often come from stress, misunderstanding, lack of communication or follow up, differences of perspectives, changes in leadership, and/or interpersonal resentments.

Oftentimes when facilitating retreats, some tension arises between participants. As a facilitator, one can manage any conflict that arises within a group but in order to truly transform the conflict, it is recommended that parties in conflict work to resolve their differences outside of a retreat during a mediation session.

Sometimes conflicts cannot be avoided. The challenge is how to transform them in an effective, creative and positive way to strengthen important relationships.

Mediation helps resolve disagreements or conflicts in a constructive and empowering way without having to go to court and before they become crises thus enhancing the productivity of your organization, generating more problem solving strategies, saving you money and time while also creating a more harmonious day-to-day work or meeting atmosphere. Mediation facilitates better communication and lasting resolution especially among parties with ongoing working relationships and where personal feelings may be getting in the way of a resolution.
How does mediation work?

The Mediation process is completely confidential and offers individuals an opportunity to work out acceptable solutions with the help of an unbiased third party or mediator. The mediator’s role is not to offer legal or professional advice or decide on outcome, but to provide guidance in identifying the issues and voicing negative feelings in a productive way. The mediator also helps to clarify misunderstandings and priorities, find points of agreement, explore new areas of compromise and collaboration, and negotiate an agreement.

I’m leading another Advanced Facilitation Workshop on Wednesday, September 15th at the LA Eco-Village (117 Bimini Pl), from 7 to 9pm and invite you to attend. This workshop explores more sophisticated tools and strategies that facilitators use to ensure groups effectively reach decisions. Participants will have the opportunity to practice facilitating challenging situations and receive feedback from the instructor and training participants. Recommended pre-requisite: Intro to Facilitation or some facilitation experience. Fee: $35 (sliding scale available) Reservations required: crsp@igc.org or 213/738-1254. For those interested in learning more about facilitation, consider attending Beatrice Brigg’s upcoming “Leading Effective Meetings” training on September 30th through October 2nd.

Photo of a Food Lobby Coop Meeting that occurred at the LA Eco-Village

Tonight (Tuesday, June 15th), from 7pm to 9pm, I’m leading a Running Effective Meetings Workshop at the LA Eco-Village, and I invite you to attend. To rsvp, contact crsp@igc.org or 213/738-1254. $35 sliding scale.

Many of us spend much of our times in meetings. Having attending numerous meetings as a facilitator and participant, I’m happy to share the following 10 quick tips for running effective meetings with you:

1. Designate a Facilitator: Whether it’s a member of the group such or your group decide to bring in an outside facilitator, the facilitator’s role is to help keep the group focused and moving forward.
2. Develop an agenda before the meeting: At the core of a good agenda are items that require the group to make decisions. Project how much time each item will take and assign the outcome you hope to accomplish.
3. Stick to the agenda during the meeting: Many temptations exist to stray off topic. Stay focused to get the work done you need to get done and record other ideas brought up at the meeting for future meetings.
4. Record decisions made: Have a notetaker at every meeting to take minutes and have them record each decision, who is responsible for implementing it and if any future actions need to happen.
5. Start and end on time: When groups slide from starting and ending on time, people loose motivation for attending meeting.
6. Set groundrules: Groundrules help ensure civility between members. Some examples: test assumptions, share all relevant information and focus on interests, not positions.
7. Address conflict when it comes up: Dealing with conflict can be challenging but not dealing with it and letting it fester can potentially be worse.
8. Use graphics: Have someone scribe notes on a dry-erase board or poster paper to visually record people’s thoughts.
9. Evaluate: Occasionally ask what about the meetings work well and what could be improved…experiment with ways to improve meetings.
10. Thank people for attending: If folks feel appreciated and valued, they are more likely to show up at future meetings, especially if they are a volunteer.

Tomorrow night (June 9th), Ron Milam will lead an Advanced Facilitation training at the LA Eco-Village. The following week on June 15th, he’ll lead a Running Effective Meetings training. You are welcome to attend one or both of these trainings.

This workshop explores more sophisticated tools and strategies that facilitators use to ensure groups effectively reach decisions. Participants will have the opportunity to practice facilitating challenging situations and receive feedback from the instructor and training participants.

This workshop explores the key components necessary to ensure meetings are effective and result in decisions that help an organization move forward. These components include: developing an agenda, knowing people’s roles and responsibilities, having a decision making process, facilitation and good listening skills.

The other day, my rotation came up to co-facilitate one of our weekly meetings here at the Eco-Village, which went really well. Outside of the Eco-Village, I facilitate a number of meetings for sustainability-oriented organizations as a Consultant and have learned some best-practices over the years that I’d like to share with you.

1. Listen: Listen closely listen to everything that is said and watch people’s body language as well.

2. Develop the Agenda: Before the meeting, create an agenda that has clear items that lead to actual decisions.

3. Serve Everyone: As a facilitator, you are there to serve the entire group, which means you don’t take anyone’s side.

4. Steward the Process: Your job is to ensure the decision making process moves forward – the group’s job is to decide.

5. Conflict is Normal: Expect occasional conflict and work to build areas of agreement with the group.

6. Set Ground Rules: Going over some common ground rules at the start helps enforce bad behavior if it occurs.

7. Decide how to Decide: Every group needs to agree on what their decision making method is before they start making decisions.

8. Pay attention to time: Remind the group how they are doing on time and/or appoint a timekeeper to help ensure things keep moving.

9. Use your toolbox: One example: Use a stack (which creates a list of who will speak next so people don’t interrupt).

10. Practice: We learn facilitation by doing it. We get better at it by reflecting on how we did and constantly learning new ways to do it better.

I wish you the best as you facilitate future meetings! I also welcome any facilitation tips you would add to this Top 10 list.

Ron, my friend and neighbor, asked me to post this blog entry that he wrote, see the original post here:

A good facilitator brings some important materials to a meeting including an easel, markers, a small clock and most challenging of all to carry on a bicycle, a full sized posterboard to scribe notes to capture everyone’s good thoughts. Up until now, I have always asked clients to bring the posterboard because it was too challenging to secure on my small bike rack.

For a recent peer learning session I led for the Liberty Hill Foundation, one of the leading funders of social change movements in Los Angeles, I decided I would incorporate a little social change in my own lifestyle and bring everything to the training by bicycle. Knowing I couldn’t fit everyone on my existing bike, I remembered one of my neighbors here at the LA Eco-Village has an XtraCycle I could borrow, which is a bicycle trailer device designed to carry heavy loads.

I’m excited to report that I successfully carried the following items on one bicycle: that big posterboard, an easel, markers, handouts, my laptop computer and three bags of groceries that fed an impressive group of 15 leaders working on social change here in Los Angeles. I really enjoyed the ride and the discussion that followed it.

Now that I know it can easily be done, I look forward to hauling all of my facilitation tools on bike to future trainings, retreats and meetings. While I can’t confirm it, I just might be able to say I’m the only bicycling facilitator in Los Angeles! If you need a facilitator or want to know more about what a facilitator does, check out my website.